The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, September 25, 1914, Image 6
Co-Operative Farm
Products Marketing
How It Is Done in Europe and May Be Done
in America to the Profit of HotU
Farmer and Consumer
*??*
By MATTH?W 8. DUPOEON.
(< <>l>y right. 1914. Wi|i?rn N.'*ipupi i llnlmi i
Where Fifty Thousand Belgian Peaaanta Co-operate.
EUROPE'S CO-OPERATIVE MESSAGE
. P?Per>hag?n, Denmark. ? Co-oper*
vo enterprises have revolutionized
agricultural Europe and now dominate
the rurai life Qf the entire continent,
without co-operation the Helgian
would not be the efficient agricultur
ist which he is; dermany would not
have developed its agricultural possi
bilities to the point where its home
grown food aupply is bo nearly self
Hufllclent: Denmark would not bo ex
Porting sixty million dollars worth of
the best dairy products In the world;
Ireland would not be facing the future
with a hopefulness to which she has
been a stranger ever since her lands .
were confiscated as a result of the
early wars.
Belgium has 2300 rural organlza
rluw?n/1repre8Hnl,I1K H membership of
fiOO.OOO. At Luvalne we saw h single
federation of co-operative farmers'
league which represented a member
Bl"p of over 50,000 and did a business
mounting into the millions, in (Ger
many it is estimated that there .are
thlr y odd thousand, cooperative so
cieties of various kinds sad every so
ciety, with true German thoroughness
of organization federated, affiliated
and associated until together they
form an Industrial unit with a mem
bershlp of over five million." in I>en
wark one out or every four inhabi
tants belongs to a society engaged in
some co-operative activity. One man
will belong to eight or ten different
co-operative societies, each society
performing some necesHary function
in the economic life of the Individual.
Permeatea Danish Life.
To illustrate how co-operation per
meates Danish rural life: At Freder
ickHsund while visiting the co-opera
tive bacon factory we came In con
ac with a little group of farmers and
f n? wlv"H who Inapectlng the
factory? tho factory of which they
? comv ' rt ??r"' Upon 'heo.
at Hr8 ?n WW that, in
that little group of 12 persons, 12 dif
ferent co-operative organizations were
represented^ These were a co-opera
tive bacon- factory, a cooperative egg
* 0,Kanl/atlon. a co-operative
_8tore, nn orKaulzatlon for the cooper
Purchase of for tili.-.ers a eo o >
eratlvo flre insurance society? a eo.
operative l|f? insurance society, a slt
(ioty for the insurance of animals
another society for the Insurance of
members against sickness, a co-opera
tive credit society. a farmers' water
works company and an electrical sup
Ply company. All of these men and
women were from the farm and were
of the ordinary type of farmer,*, neith
er rich nor poor hut a thoroughly ren
ZIT1'? " '?
JudfcliiK from our Inquiries, th;it In
any group of h almllar number would
,aVf, been fo""11 r*l>re?onlattvea of a
similar number of cooperative enter
prises.
In Ireland wo found, that co-opera
?on, under the leadership of Sir Hor
at'o riunket t ably seconded by R?v
Thomas A. Flulay, George W. Rus
sell and R. a Anderson. has revolu
lionized rural Ireland. In fact co-oper
ation and the ^opportunities which
have come from the new land tenure
jaws have well nigh remoulded the
ra<-? !t?^- It l? evident that in
many sections his economic wolfnro
has been ho well served that the Irish
man is even losing his pugnacity. He
is no longer incessantly "agin the
government- hut Is becoming a well
contented citizen more Intent upon his
economic situation than upon his po
litical surroundings, lie is losing his
Interest in politics and we talked to
man) who seemed loath even to dis
cuss so Important a Question as tho
home rule bill which was then pending
and over which the politicians were
becoming excited. The land tenure
law has made It possible for him to
secure a home; o^operation has made
it possible for him to secure a home;
co-operation has made it possible for
,hlm to feed and clothe his family
No one can make such a trip of In*
vestigatlon aa we have made without
becoming convinced that into Ameri
can rural life must come some form of
co-operative enterprise. If it cos(9 as
much to take the farm produce from
the farm to the. city consumer as It
does to produce It (and this Is an ad
mitted fact) it necessarily follows that
our distributive system Is wonderfully
wasteful. How long will the intelli
gent American farmer tolerate a sys
tem jvhich nets him 25 to 60 per cent
of the retail price of his farm product
after he knows that the Danish farmer
gets a little over ninety per cent of
what the consumer pays for his prod
uct. Ah we investigate what Is done
abroad and what could bo done in
America In the way of efficient dis
tribution tho wonder grows that the
American farmer with his intelligence
and independence and initiative haB
consented to be a victim of a distribu
tive ^system which has put him abso
lutely in the hands of tho commercial
forces that intervene between himself
and the consumer. It is no less as
tonishing that the more businesslike
and more commercialized city consum
er should have so long consented to
pay a price to the distributor of farm
products which Is over 100 per cent
above tho producer's price,
Co-operation is coming to America,
Whether it will come in the exact
form in which it evidences itself in
foreign lands or in some other differ
ent form is immaterial. It may not
come immediately but eventually and
inevitably the Idea of co-operation will
prevail in the future agricultural and
commercial organizations of the Unit
. ed States.
Co-operative Lessons.
It is safe to assume that Ireland,
Belgium, Germany, and Denmark have
learned Borne lessons from their many
years of co-operative endeavor. It is
safe to assume that if certain princi
ples have been found to apply through
out all these countries, then these prin
ciples are at least worthy of care
ful consideration for future use in
America.
There are some points as to which
all co-operative societies abroad are
tho same. There are somo aa to
which they difTer, as is but natural
when we consider the varying condi
tions under which the various socie
ties operate In tho different countries.
Wo are of courso primarily interested
In (hose fundamental characteristics
which are common to all.
Whenever a number of American
farmers gather together to consider
. an organization which has to do with
mercantile or other financial enter
prise. it is but natural to talk about
profits and dividends. Their idea of
organization is a Joint stock corpora
tion in which each man invests such
money as he can spare, in which each
votes in proportion to tho shares pur
chased, and tho. main purpose of which
is to earn money and declare divi
dends. It is difficult for him to con
ceive of a commercial organization
w hose chief function is not to squeeze
all the profit there is out of every ac
tivity
True co-operation is impossible so
long as this idea of organization is
retained.
The purpose of the eo-operativo en
terprise la to handle tho product with
economy and efficiency so that there
will be no waste and no profits di
verted from th?? producer's pocket. If
such a concern pays n large dividend
to shareholders it is not evidence of
success but a clear indication that
money which should have gone to the
. producer has been taken from him
and given to tho investor. This con
ception has not yet reached the con
sciousness of the American farmer
who still expects a co-operative con
cern to pay dividends.
The Irjth Way.
In Ireland we found that nearly all
of the effective co-operative organl&a
Hons were affiliated with the Irtsb
Agricultural Organization Society !
which frou, the first has b??u lb? j
pOWff lb?t haw i ii ;i tl < ? CO operation pO*
bible In tint Island. It in a rigid rule
of this organisation society that no
local society belonging to it can under
any circumstances pay to exceed Ave
per cent per annum upon Us shares of
stock. The moment the shareholders
conceive the organization Is one
which is to ?arn large dividends, that
moiiH'itt its usefulness ends. More
ilian one American cooperative enter
prise has been reeked upon these
rocks.
Following some bitter experiences,
It has been found necessary to a^ere '
rigidly to the principle that no master
?what a man's investment may be, he I
may have only one vq,te In the man
agement of the concern. Experience
has shown that this avoids Jealousies,
and suspicion, and discord, and pre*
vents mismanagement.
.
Disloyalty of Members.
One of the great stumbling blocks ,
lu co-operative success in America baa
been the disloyalty of the members
themselves. As soon us a co-operative
marketing concern is organized a pri
vately owned company Is likely to of
fer an advanced price? one consider
ably above that which the co-operative
concern Is offering and possibly one
much higher than the condition of the
market will Justify, In America hu
man nature, like human nature in
general, Is selfish and It is difficult for
the farmer to see why he should sacri
fice Ave cants a bushel upon his grain
out of a mere sentiment of loyalty to
the co-operative enterprise. As a re
sult he almost Inevitably takes his
grain to the privately owned concern.
His neighbors do the same and soon ,
the co-operative concein is on the
rocks and is abandoned. No observer
of American commercial methods
needs to be told the next step. The
privately owned concern immediately
lowers the price, the farmer is where
he was before bilt by his own disloyal
ty be has made it practically impossi
ble for any other co-operative con
cern ever to be organized in the com
munity.
European cooperation has had the. I
name experience. It was originally |
hard for the European farmer to real- (
ize that he should sacrifice a limited
amount of present profit in order to ,
demonstrate his loyalty to the con- i
cern and to secure ultimate success.
The situation, however, no longer
arises where co-operation has become
fairly established.
Quality and Control.
Another ( characteristic common to
all co-operative organizations which j
we visited in these four countries is
that where the society Is a marketing
concern It insists upon the highest
quality and in order to get it exercises
abaolute control over the actB of Its
I members so far as these acts contrib
ute to the quality of the product. Such
a successful dairying institution as the
Trlfollum dairy of Denmark has most
rigid rules to which all members must
subscribe. There must be monthly
inspection by the veterinarians repre
senting the society ; a cow found to bo
unhealthy or defective must be with
drawn; the slightest Illness on the
part of the cow must be reported and
the milk kept separate; detailed re
quirements as to ventilation, cleanli
ness, handling of milk and milk cans
must be. observed; the milk of cows
which have not been inspected must
not be mingled with those which
have; milk must be cooled within on?
hour after It Is milked In order that
bacteriological growth may cease;,
cans must be cleaned In a certain
way; In fact everything Is done which
can be done to Improve the quality fit
the milk and the butter and other
products handled by the Trlfollum
dairy.
Central Association Needed.
Experience in \hese foreign coun
tries has also demonstrated that no
local co-operative concern Is sufficient
unto Itself. The manager of a co
operative egg marketing Institution In
northwestern Ireland may know all
about poultry raising and egg produc
tion, may bo skilled in the art of pack
ing his eggs, and know something in
general about marketing. It is Impos
sible for him. Isolated as he is, to.
know from day to day where there Is a
demand for his product. As a result It
is found necessary in Ireland to have
these co-operative concerns affiliated
with the Irish Wholesale Society, wtth
headquarters at Dublin.
Tho Bame principle exists in Get*
many but Is worked out In another
way; The necessity of federation la
recognized, however, in all countries
although the way In which the local
organizations are affiliated Into a cen
tral organization varies under the con
ditions of tho various countries.
Europe's Unanimous Verdict.
Europe's co-operative message to
brletly to this effect:
1. Co-operative societies cannot b?
dividend paying concerns. All profits
i must go to the producers as additional
price for goodB delivered.
2. Each member must vote onc^
and only once regardless of his finan
cial investment.
3. Each member must make a con
tract to deal exclusively with the co*
operative concern and must refuse to
! lake advantage of unfnlr competition
j on the part of the co-operative socie
i ty's competitors.
4 All members must unite to pro
I duce a product of tJv? highest posslbl*
quality.
The various local societies must, for
stridency and self-protection, unite In
one central federal association.
6. The man who manages a co
operative concern must be a man of
high ability and the directors must
pay him a btg man's salary.
Mutual Warehouse Co
Bonded and Incorporated
EXPECT to be ready to receive
cotton for storage on or be
fore OCTOBER FIRST.
. 1 i1 ? f !'? ? ~ 1 . , '".i", 1 ? ' 1 1 1 .. 1 ?? ? 'f. ^ VI Wjj'Basaaa
;?* ?; . ; ' I* / ' _ ' - . ''? ??- ?. y ' & * V ' ?'*. . ? - V." . ?*
Parties desiring storage room,
please engage space.
'
JOHN S UNDSAY, Pres.
?' ?? -v..' '? ? a ? ?? .? i.'.L.-:'.'. I.;.-.
CAMDEN, S. C.
(?. 5?. *Du3Bose ^ Q. SBoijkin
?Dut$ose dr t$oy?ca
SPea/ Gstate and J' ire
Snsurance ^
?X . ? x i _ .
INSURE YOUR COTTON
Every farmer should insure
his cotton against fire. We
write polices in any amount
to cover cotton on plantation
or in warehouse. .*. .'. i
ASK US FOR RATES